This Dungeons and Dragons session began with a call to the audience for alcohol, and I think that gives you a very good idea of where we are headed.
For five years, the charity D&D game has raked in donations, not to mention the auction for a seat at the table. This year’s winner? Nick. Lovely Nick. Who was in Oklahoma twelve hours ago, when he got the notification that he had won the auction and would be joining Jennifer Estep, R.R. Virdi, Jason Engel, and Matt Dinniman at the D&D table under DM-for-the-night John Hartness. He scrambled to get a last-minute flight and hotel so that he could make it in time for the game, and he did, finding himself a seat in the Hilton Grand West on Sunday at 8:30PM. As a D&D player with many years of experience, he was raring to go, and he definitely held his own alongside the famous authors at the table with him.
Like any good D&D session… it was the very best kind of chaos. Dinniman put out a call for alcohol and was immediately met with a large can of beer from the audience. A bit chagrined, he admitted he could not actually accept it because he is allergic to hops. As if that admission were a hole in the dyke, a stream of people suddenly poured up from the audience. At least a dozen people rushed the stage with various bottles, shots, and flasks, with one person going so far as to quickly mix a cocktail for the author right there at the table before rushing back to his seat. The panel was off to a great start.
It is extremely tempting to give a play by play of the entire module, because I do wish everyone could have experienced it. There were times during the session that I was laughing so hard, I was finding it difficult to breathe. All of my video is completely unusable because my hand was shaking while I was recording and my laughter was loud in the speaker. The good news is that the proper video should be up on the Falstaff books YouTube channel at some point in the near future, so I won’t spoil the fun for you here. I won’t tell you about the cat, or the single stall bathroom with four men in it, or the bagpipe full of booze, or the fireballs. I won’t do that. I want to, but I won’t.
I will tell you that this is the fifth year of this auction and that, to date, the event has raised over $10,000, before Dragon Con’s match. I will tell you that the capacity of the ballroom was 524 and it was completely filled. I will tell you that while the warmup was slow, as can often be the case with a new group of players who do not know each other well, they grew together until they were all laughing together like old friends. I will admit to the fact that my experience with D&D, as a player, is limited. But dear lord do I love watching it, and this was so much fun. I wanted it to go on for hours more. I wanted to watch a weekly session with this group as they continued this zany, ridiculous adventure. And, most of all, I want to see Nick fully enjoy the prize he raced from Oklahoma to Atlanta with twelve hours’ notice to claim. Nick? You’re a rock star. Insane…but a rock star.
